The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are out. These guidelines are a group of recommendations the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services releases every 5 years. The goal is to help Americans make better dietary choices. These guidelines are supposedly based on new scientific research in the area of medicine and nutrition. Yet, according to an article in Time Magazine, not all physicians and dieticians are on board with the new recommendations. Overall, the 2015 Dietary Guidelines focused on four major changes. Let’s look at each one.
New Dietary Guidelines: Reduce Added Sugars
Reduce sugar intake? It’s about time! Few people can argue with the fact that the American diet contains too much sugar. It’s not just added sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sugary desserts that are harming our health but the abundance of “hidden sugar” in packaged products. Regardless of the source, a diet high in sugar is linked with weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and a greater risk for heart disease.
The new guidelines recommend reducing sugar to no more than 10% of total calories on a daily basis. Currently, the average American consumes up to 22 teaspoons of sugar a day. Following the new guidelines would cut this amount by half. That might sound easy, but when you consider the fact that even some “healthy” foods like a container of yogurt has as much as 5 or 6 teaspoons of sugar – it’s not always easy to comply. The best way to limit sugar in your diet is to avoid processed foods with the exception of minimally processed items like frozen vegetables.
Another possible change is in the works. To make it easier to gauge the amount of added sugar in packaged products, the FDA is considering including the amount of ADDED sugar to nutrition labels, so you can better distinguish between natural sugars in a product and added sugar.
New Dietary Guidelines: Protein Considerations
One of the most surprising aspects of the new guidelines is the recommendation that males reduce the amount of protein in their diet. The thought is that the typical American diet is already relatively high in protein. The new guidelines make no mention of women reducing dietary protein, likely because women, in general, eat a diet lower in protein. Although not mentioned, certain groups of people, those over the age of 65, athletes people who do intense exercise, and those who are dieting need more protein than the average person.
One area of controversy among dieticians was the fact the guidelines don’t recommend limiting red meat or processed meat even after a recent study showed a link between these foods and a higher risk for cancer. That has some plant-based dieticians on edge. With so many plant-based proteins that are also high in fiber, there’s no need to consume processed meat or even red meat. Fish and plant-based protein offer additional health benefits like fiber and omega-3s that you don’t get typically get from red meat.
New Dietary Guidelines: No Limit on Cholesterol
A shift away from cholesterol as a dietary focus is a major change from previous guidelines. Up until this time, dietary guidelines have recommended limiting cholesterol to 300 milligrams daily. This is consistent with research showing dietary cholesterol doesn’t raise LDL-cholesterol, the “bad” form of cholesterol, as much as saturated fat and trans-fat, and there are even questions as to whether saturated fat is as heart unhealthy as previously thought. Plus, foods like eggs are high in cholesterol but offer exceptional nutritional value. Studies show that eating an egg or two daily doesn’t substantially raise LDL-cholesterol in normal, healthy people.
Hopefully, the move away from lowering dietary fat and a shift towards reducing dietary sugars signals an end to the low-fat and fat-free era. What often happens when people reduce the amount of sugar in their diet, is they replace it with refined carbohydrates. Many low-fat packaged products substitute sugar or high-fructose corn syrup for fat. Many experts now believe refined carbohydrates, by contributing to insulin resistance, are more of a threat to heart health than fat. Plus, not all fats are created equal. For example, the monounsaturated fats in olive oil, nuts, and avocados are heart-healthy. All in all, fat is not a villain – refined carbohydrates are.
New Dietary Guidelines: Focus on Eating Healthy Overall
One positive aspect of the new guidelines is the recommendation to establish a healthy eating pattern consisting of lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains rather than focusing on specific nutrients and macronutrients. Too many eating plans are focused around excluding a particular dietary component like gluten, carbohydrates, fat etc. rather than establishing a sustainable style of eating that supplies all the macronutrients and nutrients you need for good health.
New Dietary Guidelines: Other Notable Changes
The new 2015 guidelines also give coffee the green light, saying that drinking up to 5 cups daily is within healthy limits. Not surprising since recent studies correlate coffee drinking with a lower risk for certain health problems including liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, gallbladder disease, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some types of cancer. You can almost hear Starbucks breathing a sigh of relief.
Also removed from the guidelines is the importance of not skipping breakfast. Some studies have called into question whether eating breakfast is really a hazard to your waistline or your health. The new guidelines make no mention of eating breakfast this time.
The Bottom Line
There’s one thing most dieticians will probably agree on – reducing dietary sugar and soft drinks is a key step towards improving the health of Americans. Another area where most experts will give the nod to is the importance of eating unprocessed foods and more fruits and vegetables. However, some dieticians are disappointed the new guidelines don’t recommend cutting back on red meat and focusing more on plant protein. That doesn’t mean you can’t include more plant proteins in your own diet.
How will these guidelines affect American eating habits? You’ll see them in campaigns designed to urge people to eat better and they’ll influence the types of foods that kids eat at school. Hopefully, they’ll at least create more awareness of how much sugar is currently in the American diet and encourage food manufacturers to cut back.
References:
The Salt. “New Dietary Guidelines Crack Down On Sugar. But Red Meat Gets A Pass”
Medscape Multispecialty. “Why Dietary Cholesterol Is No Longer Enemy Number One”
Harvard Health Publications. “Panel suggests that dietary guidelines stop warning about cholesterol in food”
New York Times. “More Consensus on Coffee’s Effect on Health Than You Might Think”
Science Alert. “New study shows no signs that skipping breakfast will make you gain weight”
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